Dispersion-driven ferromagnetism in a flat-band Hubbard system

We investigate a mechanism to establish ground-state ferromagnetism in flat-band Hubbard systems based on a kind of {\it order-from-disorder} effect driven by dispersion. As a paradigm we consider a frustrated diamond chain, where for ideal diamond geometry the lowest one-electron band is flat, but the ground state remains paramagnetic for arbitrary on-site repulsion $U$. We focus on half filling of the flat band. By using numerical and analytical arguments we present the ground-state phase diagram for a distorted diamond chain, i.e., the former flat band becomes dispersive. Driven by the interplay of dispersion and interaction the ground state is ferromagnetic if the interaction exceeds a critical value $U_c$.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Marshall-Peierls sign rule in frustrated Heisenberg chains

We consider the frustrated antiferromagnetic s=1 Heisenberg quantum spin chain with regard to the Marshall-Peierls sign rule (MPSR). By using exact diagonalization data we investigate the breakdown of the MPSR in dependence on frustration and compare our findings with data for s=1/2. We calculate a critical value of frustration J_2(crit) where the MPSR is violated. The extrapolation of this value to the infinite chain limit holds J_2(crit) approx. 0.016, lower than in the case of s=1/2 (J_2(crit) approx. 0.027). This points to a stronger influence of frustration in the case of s=1. Nevertheless the calculation of the weight of the Ising-states violating the MPSR shows that the MPSR holds approximately even for quite large frustration and may be used for numerical techniques.Comment: 4 pages (Latex), 2 Postscript figures, to be published in acta physica polonica A (European Conference 'Physics of Magnetism 99'

Low-temperature thermodynamics for a flat-band ferromagnet: Rigorous versus numerical results

The repulsive Hubbard model on a sawtooth chain exhibits a lowest single-electron band which is completely dispersionless (flat) for a specific choice of the hopping parameters. We construct exact many-electron ground states for electron fillings up to 1/4. We map the low-energy degrees of freedom of the electron model to a model of classical hard dimers on a chain and, as a result, obtain the ground-state degeneracy as well as closed-form expressions for the low-temperature thermodynamic quantities around a particular value of the chemical potential. We compare our analytical findings with complementary numerical data. Although we consider a specific model, we believe that some of our results like a low-temperature peak in the specific heat are generic for flat-band ferromagnets.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; accepted for publication as a Rapid Communication in Physical Review

Strongly correlated flat-band systems: The route from Heisenberg spins to Hubbard electrons

In this review we recapitulate the basic features of the flat-band spin systems and briefly summarize earlier studies in the field. Main emphasis is made on recent developments which include results for both spin and electron flat-band models. In particular, for flat-band spin systems we highlight field-driven phase transitions for frustrated quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnets at low temperatures, chiral flat-band states, as well as the effect of a slight dispersion of a previously strictly flat band due to nonideal lattice geometry. For electronic systems, we discuss the universal low-temperature behavior of several flat-band Hubbard models, the emergence of ground-state ferromagnetism in the square-lattice Tasaki-Hubbard model and the related Pauli-correlated percolation problem, as well as the dispersion-driven ground-state ferromagnetism in flat-band Hubbard systems. Closely related studies and possible experimental realizations of the flat-band physics are also described briefly.Comment: 72 pages, 20 figures, 157 references; accepted for publication in International Journal of Modern Physics

Semiquantitative theory for high-field low-temperature properties of a distorted diamond spin chain

We consider the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on a distorted diamond chain and use the localized-magnon picture adapted to a distorted geometry to discuss some of its high-field low-temperature properties. More specifically, in our study we assume that the partition function for a slightly distorted geometry has the same form as for ideal geometry, though with slightly dispersive one-magnon energies. We also discuss the relevance of such a description to azurite.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures; Presented at the 4-th Conference on Statistical Physics: Modern Trends and Applications (July 3-6, 2012 Lviv, Ukraine